Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-11-05

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

The chart below shows the results of a survey about people’s coffee and tea buying and drinking habits in five Australian cities.

Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

Student answer (Band 5.5)

The bar chart illustrates the results of a survey about people's who like coffee and tea purchasing and drinking habits in five Australian cities.

Overall, mostly peoples were interested went to a cafe for coffee or tea in almost five cities while in Brisbane people accounted lowest percentage in bought fresh coffee. Moreover, the ratio of instant coffee peoples were steadily increase but only fell in Adelaide city.

Firstly looking at those peoples who were like to went cafe for coffee or tea.In Sydney had highest percentage at above 60% while in Melborne slightly grew between 60 to 65% and fell in Brisbane city stand at 55%. In Adelaide reached their lowest ratio at below 50% but later on soar up and reached almost same as Melbourne in Hobart.

On the other hand, Instant coffee were the second choice for peoples in last 4 weeks.In Sydney instant coffee accounted 45% while this ratio grew in Melborne and Brisbane but slightly fell in Adelaide before reaching round about 55% in Hobart. Thirdly, in fresh coffee peoples were less drink and highest percentage accounted in sydney at below 45% while Brisbane contribute lowest ratio below 35% in 4 weeks.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You cover all three survey categories and provide a general overview, noting that café visits were highest in most cities and that fresh coffee was least popular in Brisbane. Several comparisons are accurate: café attendance was above 60% in Sydney, Melbourne and Hobart, and fresh coffee was lowest in Brisbane and Adelaide. However, the overview is not fully clear: instant-coffee purchases did not steadily increase across the cities, but rose from Sydney to Brisbane, dipped in Adelaide, then rose in Hobart. The claim that it “only fell in Adelaide” needs a clearer comparison, and the café figures are described without identifying Hobart’s near-equal result with Melbourne. More precise reporting of the main patterns and a few key figures would make the summary more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and two body paragraphs grouping café visits and coffee purchases. This gives the reader a coherent overall route through the information. Some linking is effective, including “On the other hand” to shift to coffee purchases and “before reaching” to describe the final city in a sequence. However, progression within sentences is sometimes awkward or unclear, as in “In Adelaide reached their lowest ratio … but later on soar up,” where the subject and comparison are difficult to follow. The overview also combines several points without clearly distinguishing the main trends. Use complete topic sentences and consistent city-by-city comparisons, with fewer mechanical transitions such as “Firstly” and “Thirdly.”

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant task vocabulary, including “percentage,” “ratio,” “accounted,” “grew,” and “fell,” and the reader can generally understand the comparisons you intend. There is some variety in describing movement, such as “soar up” and “slightly fell.” However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unnatural: “peoples” is not appropriate for residents, “people's who like” is awkward, and “fresh coffee peoples were less drink” does not express the intended idea clearly. “Ratio” is also less suitable than “proportion” or “percentage” for these chart figures. Aim for precise, natural phrases such as “the proportion of residents who bought instant coffee” and check spelling of city names, including “Melbourne” and “Sydney.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including comparisons with “while” and sequences using “before,” so there is some structural variety. The main information is usually recoverable, but grammatical errors occur in several sentences. For example, “mostly peoples were interested went” lacks a clear verb pattern, while “In Sydney had highest percentage” has no grammatical subject. Verb forms are also inconsistent in “the ratio … were steadily increase” and “later on soar up.” Articles and sentence boundaries need attention too: “went cafe” requires an article, and there should be a space after the full stop in “tea.In.” Practise building complete sentences with a clear subject and correctly formed verb before adding comparisons.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.